Watford’s Craig Dawson has told Norwich City to brace themselves for battle ahead of the two sides meeting on Friday evening.

The Hornets are rooted to the foot of the Premier League table and are still looking for their first win of the season.

Despite being FA Cup finalists last season, it's been a disappointing start to life in this campaign, with Dawson's men having picked up only five points from their opening 11 games.

Their poor form prompted the Hornets hierarchy to remove head coach Javi Gracia in September.

The Spaniard achieved Watford's highest average points per game return in the Premier League but three losses in four games saw him replaced with Quique Sanchez Flores, who returned for his second stint in charge of the club.

Under Flores, they have deployed a more pragmatic style of play, with the Spanish coach modelling himself on ex-Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez.

Dawson insists that the Hornets aren't far away from recording their first win of the season.

"Everyone's working really hard and we're not far away from that win, so we need to keep on working hard," said the centre-back. "The win will come and that will build confidence, and hopefully we can do that this weekend."

"We've had a few games where certain decisions have not quite gone for us," he told Watford's official website. "That's football. It's important we stay focused and work hard and those decisions will turn for us and the win will come."

The numbers behind Watford's game suggests they should possess more points but their failure to convert chances is a worry for their survival prospects.

City sit 19th in the Premier League table, conscious that a win for the visitors on Friday would leave them bottom of the table.

Dawson has insisted they'll have to be prepared to go to battle in Norfolk on Friday.

"Obviously it is going to be a tough game. We know that and we've prepared well and hopefully we can get the result. We know it's going to be a fight and we're prepared for it."

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